Winemaker Notes
Dazzling in the glass with a pale lemon core and tinges of youthful green around its edge, the unmistakable expressions of the Sonoma Coast burst forth with sleek and focused notes of crisp pear, peach blossom, and an undertone of racy minerality.The expansive mouthfeel is built upon pure flavors of Honeycrisp apple, lemon meringue, and a hint of brioche that adds an unctuous complexity to its bright and textured finish.
Professional Ratings
-
Jeb Dunnuck
Coming from two sites at almost 1300 feet elevation, the 2022 Chardonnay Cuvee Number Five saw 11 months in barrel. In the glass, it pours a bright yellow hue with a green tinge and is pure on the nose, with notes of pineapple, candied lime, wet stone, almond, and delicate flint. Medium to full-bodied, it’s silky and refined on the palate, with a fantastic, weightless feel.
-
Vinous
A blend from two Sonoma Coast sites above 900 feet in elevation (Sunchase and Nightwing), the 2022 Chardonnay Cuvée Number Five is a rockstar of an appellation-level wine. Soft-textured, caressing and even-tempered, it coasts through the mouth with toasted hazelnut, mint, white flowers and chalk hints. Bright, citrus-fresh acidity keeps things moving, finishing with an oily tangerine peel note.
-
Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The 2022 Cattleya Cuvée Number Five Chardonnay is bright, active, and racy. This wine exhibits aromas and flavors of alluring spices, active stone fruits, rocks-in-the-desert, earthy notes, and mineral notes. Enjoy it with a tray of lightly smoked oysters. (Tasted: August 26, 2024, San Francisco, CA)
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Chardonnay Cuvée Number Five was barrel fermented and matured for 11 months in 60% new French oak. It has open-knit aromas of spiced apples, jasmine and marshmallow. The full-bodied palate is mouth coating with concentrated, honeyed fruit. It’s energized by mouthwatering acidity and has a long, floral finish.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
A vast appellation covering Sonoma County’s Pacific coastline, the Sonoma Coast AVA runs all the way from the Mendocino County border, south to the San Pablo Bay. The region can actually be divided into two sections—the actual coastal vineyards, marked by marine soils, cool temperatures and saline ocean breezes—and the warmer, drier vineyards further inland, which are still heavily influenced by the Pacific but not quite with same intensity.
Contained within the appellation are the much smaller Fort Ross-Seaview and Petaluma Gap AVAs.
The Sonoma Coast is highly regarded for elegant Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and, increasingly, cool-climate Syrah. The wines have high acidity, moderate alcohol, firm tannin, and balanced ripeness.